Kansas State beats Alabama with strong first half in Coors Classic

CHIP ENGLISH/CorrespondentFormer Mary Montgomery High School star Mikhail Torrance goes to the basket for Alabama in the Crimson Tide's loss to Kansas State on Saturday night in Mobile.Alabama displayed some late-game grit and at times matched the intensity of its opponent in Saturday night's Coors Classic game against No. 17 Kansas State. But the Wildcats were too strong, too deep and too accurate, claiming an 87-74 victory at the Mitchell Center.

A big first half for the Wildcats paved the way to the victory, creating a scoring cushion Alabama couldn't overcome, even with a mini-run in the waning minutes. And Alabama couldn't stop game MVP Jacob Pullen, who scored 30 points, including a 6-of-9 showing from 3-point range.

"We just wanted to solidify ourselves," said Pullen, whose 20-point first half was a key factor in the Wildcats' lead. "We played extremely well in the first half. We played defense and we made open shots."

It took the Wildcats less than six minutes to claim an 11-point lead at 17-6 and moments later used the second of five first-half 3-pointers by Pullen to push that advantage to 20-6. Alabama mounted what would constitute its only run of the half, getting an Anthony Brock 3-pointer in response to Pullen, a Mikhail Torrance layup and a pair of Chris Hines free throws to trim the Wildcats' advantage to eight.

It didn't last. Kansas State scored the next seven points take a 27-12 lead at the 9:30 mark, and only added to that advantage in the final minutes of the half, going up by many as 20 points.

Alabama's JaMychal Green was Alabama's leading scorer at the half with six points, but the Kansas State defense and lack of offensive flow for the Tide found him taking just five shots in the first 20 minutes. As a team, Alabama made only 9-of-29 shots in the half.

"They jumped on us," Alabama coach Anthony Grant said of Kansas State's defense. "We couldn't run our offense. They outrebounded us and, if you look at the stats, we were dominated tonight."

Grant said Pullen's shooting was a factor, but the result boiled down to one thing: "They were just better than us."

The Wildcats weren't as crisp in the second half, but defense and rebounding helped them maintain a comfortable lead through the first 10 minutes. Alabama chipped away, but it didn't appear to make much of a dent in the deficit until the 7:31 mark. That's when Torrance dropped a 3-pointer from the top of the key and was fouled after the shot.

He was awarded two free throws, which he made, giving the Tide a five-point swing that cut Kansas State's lead to 61-53. Momentum had shifted, but the Wildcats, though clearly not playing as smoothly as earlier, answered. Less than two minutes after Torrance's five-point solo run, KSU had increased its lead to 69-53.

"We had the momentum, but we know they're ranked for a reason," Torrance said. "We know they're a great team, and great teams come up big in big-time games. When you give a great team a 20-point cushion, it's kind of hard to dig yourself out."

Asked about his team's late run, Grant said, "I expect our guys to play hard. That's what they're supposed to do."

The win is the seventh straight for the Wildcats, who are now 10-1. Alabama fell to 7-4, having lost two of its past three games to nationally ranked teams.

Alabama was led by former Mary Montgomery star Torrance with 20 points in his homecoming. Green added 17 points, with Senario Hillman scoring 11. Kansas State, along with Pullen's 30 points, received 15 from Judge, 12 from Samuels and 11 from Clemente. KSU outrebounded Alabama 38-23.

The Crimson Tide hosts Mercer on Wednesday. KSU's next game is Monday at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.